Tribute
by Mweloo
Summary: -Akane, Shinoa, Mitsuba, Krul- Yu and Mika take a few moments to reflect on the women in their lives. A quartet of short character studies/"what if" scenarios told from both Yu and Mika's perspectives.
1. Akane Hyakuya, The Nuturer

**A/N: The ladies of Seraph don't get enough love, and I thought I'd do a little experimenting with second-person narrative.**

 **Disclaimer: _Seraph of the End_ is the ****property of Takaya Kagami.**

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She was the heart of your entire group, in those days of innocence long past.

You used to joke around with her, saying that you were the father and she, the mother of your little family. She occasionally likened Yu to the bratty, impatient first son, ignoring the fact that he was a few months older than her.

She was the one who listened to and fussed over the smaller kids with a wisdom that belied her young age, the one Yu fumed to when he thought you were being too smart for your own good. She made for up for your rare moments of emotional awkwardness, like when Ako came crying to you about how other kids in Sanguinem had been bullying her. You had been thinking about your second meeting with Ferid, and were fumbling more than you usually would have, when she whisked Ako away and gave you a wink.

"Hush, Mika's thinking," she said. "Now, tell me about these children who've been picking on you."

You attribute her attitude to her relatively normal upbringing. Akane hadn't endured abuse; she had a happy, wealthy childhood until her parents had passed away when she was six. You had –perhaps insensitively- envied her for it for a while, but then she showed you how to read and write (your biological parents had never bothered), and all was forgotten. Together, you and she had endeavoured to pass your knowledge on to the others. It was a moderate success- both of you had laughingly concluded that Yu would never learn.

When you are alone, you regret the fact that you will never get to apologise for your thoughtlessness. At least _you_ had an easy time saying goodbye to your parents.

She was your co-planner, your equal, and above all, a gentle, reliable sister. You miss her grounding influence now more than ever, when you are adrift in a society that mostly doesn't know what to make of you.


	2. Shinoa Hiragi, The Child

**Disclaimer: _Seraph of the End_ is the ****property of Takaya Kagami.**

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You compared her to a toddler running around the house naked in your earliest days. Prancing, teasing and giggling shamelessly. It made you want to punch her ignorant and deceptively demure face and get her out of your life. She represented a change you didn't want, something you definitely didn't need.

Now, she still moves gracefully and still pokes fun at you, but it's done with an awareness that somehow renders the whole thing hollow. You wonder if she's clinging on to that old impishness as a way of dealing with the fact that she started caring at the worst time possible. She'd been making strides as both a leader and person, but something went wrong and broke her again. You miss the good-natured, _sincere_ banter you had traded with her at the peak of your friendship, when she balanced authority and warmth nicely.

You feel the old anger returning briefly, only to be replaced a painful sense of loss. Stupid war, making her grow and then snap. Stupid vampire nobles. It's not fair; you shouldn't be mourning Shinoa when she's technically alive and healthy.

But you can't stop yourself from admiring some traits in this new girl. When Mitsuba and Kimizuki nearly come to blows, it is she who, with a few well-chosen words, quells them without raising her voice. You and Yoichi stare at her, dumbstruck. You wonder if Guren's been giving her lessons, and Yoichi shrugs helplessly to answer your questioning look. She now takes the lead in planning for battles, in an almost robotic fashion, and you find that you find that you have severely underestimated her talent for strategising.

She is very strong, and yet so fragile. To your knowledge, she hasn't cried even once, but when you catch her in the barracks twirling her Cursed Gear with her fingers and staring blankly at a wall, you think that you would rather deal with the tears.

You leave her, knowing that nothing can be done. You are at a loss for words yourself.


	3. Mitsuba Sangu, The Knight

**Disclaimer: _Seraph of the End_ is the ****property of Takaya Kagami.**

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The way she thinks about her family's honour grates on you sometimes. Shinoa is- or was- a rich little princess with a genius older sister, too; you don't see _her_ fretting about it. To her credit, Mitsuba only openly worries in private; Yoichi and Kimizuki don't know a thing, and your finding out was a matter of pure luck, when you'd walked in on her biting her nails and feverishly checking a report she was supposed to have submitted.

You've since been able to detect anxiety in her posture every time she mentions the military families. You're stupid, not blind, and you know that she's too much like you to fully succeed in being subtle. You tell her to relax, and she raises an eyebrow. The question on her face is clear:

 _How can I not worry given the chaos we're in?_

She's got a stubborn streak a mile wide, and you like that about her. She's passionate in a way Shinoa isn't, less restricted, more normal. She works tirelessly to protect those she considers dear, but you wish she'd rest more, especially when she's harping on you to do just that. You think she's the best teacher in the squad; her explanations are compact yet simple, her opinions honest, and her tolerance for your blunders surprisingly high. She's also the most likely to make sure that there aren't any defects in the area, and that you're in good shape. You scoff at her for that; bloodsuckers- except Mika- aren't going to care about safety or fair play!

"It's not the vampires, idiot," she says as she gives you a light knock on the head. "I don't want to lug you to the hospital wing, that's all."

You always appreciate the hidden sentiment in the statement, despite the bickering that ensues. She's an especially large bundle of contradictions- harsh and hopeful, strict and forgiving-, but they give her strength and a genuine nobleness that resonates deeply with you.


	4. Krul Tepes, The Matriarch

**Disclaimer: _Seraph of the End_ is the ****property of Takaya Kagami.**

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You despise the life she has bestowed upon you. But when you ask yourself now if you despise _her_ , you can't quite bring yourself to say yes. The lack of an answer surprises you; you would have replied readily and wholeheartedly a few years ago.

Even when you still hated her, you couldn't deny the enormity of her presence. She was a vampire queen, obviously (later you would learn that she was the oldest living female of the species) but she was so _tiny_. There was something in the ring of her childish voice that always promised punishment for disobedience. You remember sitting in a corner listening to her giving out orders to lower-class vampires, and you could practically smell the fear radiating off some of them.

You blamed your fascination on the warped connection that had formed between you and her,- she'd called you her servant, after all- but after some time you found yourself doubting that claim.

Her status makes the way she acts around you downright baffling. She starts leaving vials of her blood in your room several months after your transformation, and when you lose control she lets you drink directly from her without complaint. She hums and coos while doing so, as if you were a child that had come crying to his mother because his favourite toy was broken. Her quiet compliance with your efforts to cling on to any scraps of humanity you have left ironically makes it easier to accept the present circumstances of your existence.

While drinking from her on one such occasion you wondered if she's grown to see you as something she something she could never have naturally- a son.

The notion of Krul wanting to be a mother is laughable (vampires have no concept of love, only greed and pragmatism). Perhaps hunger was making you delirious then. The idea stays with you, though, and eventually you find that you've reached the point where you would willingly obey her.


End file.
